


The Coldness of Fire

by IcyPanther



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Episode: s03e14-15 The Boiling Rock, Gen, Hurt Zuko (Avatar), Hurt/Comfort, Hypothermia, Hypothermic Zuko, Platonic Cuddling, Protective Sokka (Avatar), Whump, Zuko (Avatar) whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-10
Updated: 2019-12-10
Packaged: 2021-02-26 06:20:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21748912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IcyPanther/pseuds/IcyPanther
Summary: Canon divergent scene of The Boiling Rock; where Zuko is still locked in the cooler but this time the warden isn’t playing around. Sokka is Zuko’s only chance for survival and since he got him into this he’s going to get him out… well, that is, if Zuko doesn’t die first.Or; an angstier, whumpier, version of what The Boiling Rock could have been.
Relationships: Sokka & Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 145
Kudos: 2244





	The Coldness of Fire

**Author's Note:**

> **Timeline notes:** takes place inside The Boiling Rock (season three episode 14-15)  
>  **Warning notes:** none

“Crank it up,” the warden ordered. His lips curled in a sneer. “ _All_ the way.”

Sokka watched as the guard in charge of Zuko’s cooler, whose technology would fascinate him in any other instance, shared the sneer and turned the dial from where it was in the middle of the device to the far left. 

That…

That could not be a good thing. 

Chit Sang had told them how the coolers worked, how they _hurt_ firebenders and it had been a necessary risk and one Zuko said he could handle for their plan.

But this?

This was too much. 

“Um,” he raised his hand and at the warden’s raised eyebrow he felt himself color and lowered it. He swallowed and tried again. “Isn’t that a bit dangerous? Sir?” he added. 

“Of course it is,” the other guard chuckled. “Good thing Fire Lord Ozai has a dead or alive clause on this traitor’s capture. R-right, sir?” he sobered as the warden’s gaze turned to him. 

“One hour,” the warden said by way of answer. “And if he dies… well then,” his eyes darkened, “it only shows how weak he always was.”

Sokka resisted the urge to shiver.

He’d known there were Fire Nation citizens who didn’t like Zuko, but this…

“Get back to your post, guard,” the warden pointed back towards the prison yard. “The situation is handled.”

Sokka swallowed down his protest that wouldn’t do Zuko any good and only cast suspicion on him and gave a curt nod. “Yes, sir.”

He didn’t return to his post.

He went instead to Zuko’s cell, of course empty since Zuko was currently being frozen to death, to _think._

How long did Zuko logically have? Sokka knew he was tough; he’d survived not only swimming in the Northern Water Tribe waters but had strength still to fight Katara, and then lug Aang off into a snowstorm. And just like then Zuko had a purpose here too (and one Sokka was far more in favor of) and that would help him focus.

But those temperatures in such closed quarters and for so long…

Sokka’s hands trembled. He’d seen men who had fallen prey to the cold.

He’d seen some die.

And Zuko, clothed in threadbare prison garb and a firebender...

Tui and La needed to get Zuko out of that cooler.

But _how?_

It wasn’t just the one guard by Zuko’s cooler; there were several throughout the hallway and more stationed at the entrance. Sokka knew he couldn’t fight them all and even if he could, they still had no immediate way off the island as prepping the cooler for a boat would take some time. 

Sokka had familiarized himself quite well with the Boiling Rock’s layout and supplies but there was nothing he could think of in what he’d seen to make a stink-n-sink type product to get everyone running and trying to convince the guard the warden had changed his mind would go over as well as asking Katara to sew his pants. 

Think.

Think think _think._ He was the idea guy, he had to think of something.

Suki? She could kick butt he had no doubt but they still had nowhere to go and should all three of them get caught… the cooler would probably look inviting. 

Stage another fight to draw the guards? No. They’d realize something was off. 

What did he do?

What did he _do?_

As minutes ticked by a growing, cold realization grew in Sokka’s stomach.

There…

There was nothing he could do. 

Not without getting himself or Suki or both of them caught too and if that happened they’d be in an even worse spot.

But if he did nothing then Zuko…

Zuko could _die._

And it would be all Sokka’s fault. He’d wanted to come here, he’d gotten Zuko caught, he’d gotten Zuko thrown into the cooler.

Sokka’s eyes stung and he pulled the ugly helmet off so he could press his palms to his eyes before hot tears dribbled down. 

Sokka froze.

Hot.

Heat.

That’s what had saved the men who had fallen to the cold: heat. 

He couldn’t do anything for Zuko now but…

But Zuko _was_ strong. One of the strongest people Sokka had ever met. He wouldn’t let a, a stupid cooler beat him. 

And when he came out…

Sokka would take care of him. He wouldn’t let Zuko go quietly, let him leave so easily.

Not when… 

When he was starting to become his friend.

“Hold on, Zuko,” Sokka whispered, jamming his helmet back on. “Hold on.”

xxx

Zuko was beyond cold to the touch. 

He didn’t so much as twitch as Sokka reached for him, pressing fingers to his neck to feel out his pulse even though Sokka was shaking enough for both of them and it was hard to tell.

His eyes were closed, his scar the only part of him left with a dash of color and even that somehow looked paler.

Colder.

Deader.

“He alive?” the guard assigned to Zuko’s cooler asked.

And while it was hard to tell given how slow it was and how badly Sokka was trembling after a few seconds he felt _something_ beating beneath his fingers.

He gave a nod of his head and the guard huffed out a breath.

Sokka couldn’t tell if it was relieved or disappointed. He couldn't afford to dwell on it though, to give into the rising anger at how little these people cared about someone’s _life,_ shifting his hand down to where Zuko’s were clenched in his lap, the barest glint of metal peeking out.

The screws.

He’d done it.

Sokka didn’t even care.

What did escape matter right now?

He couldn’t uncurl Zuko’s fingers — even in frozen unconscious he was one stubborn jerkbender — and Sokka left them, trusting Zuko’s stubbornness to keep them in place until they were out of sight of prying eyes. 

He couldn’t look like he cared too much so Sokka hefted Zuko out none to gently and hauled him over his shoulder and the pointed armor.

The chill leeched into the metal and Sokka shivered.

He shivered more by how _still_ Zuko was.

“Just toss him back in his cell,” the guard said. 

Sokka nodded.

That was the last thing he did.

Instead he gently lowered Zuko onto the metal slab they called a bed, but it was no longer just that. Sokka had pilfered about a dozen blankets and almost half of those were spread out so the surface wasn’t cold. 

Zuko didn’t move.

Sokka tried very, very hard not to panic. 

He instead moved to the cell door, closed it after ensuring the bread he’d jammed into the lock would keep it from sealing completely so he could get back out, and then hurried back to Zuko.

He knew from watching his tribe try to save those taken by the cold that too much heat too quickly was bad. Slow and steady. And…

Sokka flushed.

Body contact.

Full body contact when Sokka wasn’t even sure he’d really ever given Zuko a pat on the back or a hug. 

To be dealt with in a bit as blankets were still safe and Zuko desperately needed them.

Sokka grabbed the remaining blankets and began to pile them atop Zuko, layering every bit of him and bundling one around the top of his head because that’s where heat liked to escape from. 

Zuko still didn’t move.

Sokka could barely feel air when he passed his hands over blue-tinged lips.

It was wrong.

All of this was wrong.

Sokka didn’t know how he could ever make things right.

But… but for now he would try to make things better.

He swallowed thickly. 

And began to strip his armor.

“I’d tell you,” Sokka said, ditching the heavy chestpiece, “that I’ve been told I have very cold feet. But…”

But compared to Zuko’s body temperature Sokka was pretty sure his feet would be considered toasty. 

Sokka was down now to the long-sleeved black garment worn beneath the armor and the matching pants, toes happily ensconced in socks. He yanked those off and jamming his hands beneath the blanket pile felt out Zuko’s feet and scrunched them on. 

Zuko still didn’t move.

Sokka knew shivering was bad but not shivering was worse.

And for a firebender?

He didn’t know.

He didn’t know what he was doing.

Why had he thought he could do this?

Treacherous tears he did not deserve to shed because he had done this stung his eyes and Sokka blinked them back.

“Oh-ohkay. Budge up. You’re… you’re hogging all the blankets. J-jerk.”

Sokka didn’t expect an answer and didn’t get one but even so…

Even so he felt worse.

He took one last breath and then crawled onto the slab next to Zuko and then, carefully so he didn’t expose Zuko to the outside air, began to burrow himself in. 

It felt like burrowing into blankets of snow.

Sokka kept going even though every layer, every inch closer to Zuko, only made it worse. 

He had no right to complain. 

He’d done this.

When he encountered Zuko it was like finding a block of ice. 

Sokka wrapped his arms around Zuko and pulled him close tucking Zuko’s head beneath his chin and pressing his face into his chest, and then pulled the topmost blanket over their heads, cocooning them and making the already dim cell go even moreso. 

For the first few moments it was as Sokka had feared — awkward. 

But as the seconds ticked by Sokka realized something. Hugging Zuko was just like hugging a broader, taller, shorter-haired, less likely to punch him but more likely to lecture in a sad, disappointed voice rather than a frustrated one, version of Katara.

Because Zuko...

Zuko was no longer an enemy or even a stranger. He was a friend.

And in the Water Tribe…

Your friends were your family. And you did _anything_ to keep your family safe.

And Sokka was going to do whatever it took to save Zuko.

He didn’t rub his hands up and down Zuko’s back — not yet, he could hear Gran Gran warning one of their hunters, doing so would be bad for the heart — but squeezed him tight.

“Come on, Zuko,” he whispered, breath ruffling dark hair and loud in the too silent space. “Come on.”

Nothing.

Sokka faintly wondered how they’d expected Zuko to have a chance at surviving this without help.

They… they probably didn’t.

Which meant…

They didn’t care.

It said so much about the Fire Nation, about how they viewed _people,_ that it made Sokka’s heart hurt. It was as the warden had said; they valued strength and strength alone. And weakness...

Sokka hugged Zuko tighter.

“I’m sorry,” he choked out. “For, for everything. This. And, and being such a jerk to you. I mean,” he sniffled. “You were the jerk first, but… but compared to what you could have been…”

Because Zuko, for all he had done to them when he’d hunted them across the world, had not been Azula and had never, ever come close to being Ozai. They ruled with power and fear that they called strength.

They were the weak ones.

Zuko was strong. He never gave up, he kept his word — Sokka still knew how _easily_ Zuko could have ordered his tribe killed and he’d have been powerless to stop it but he hadn’t, and even when Aang had escaped after promising not to he hadn’t retaliated and _that_ said so much and Sokka had never realized it until recently — and Zuko would make an amazing Fire Lord.

If Sokka hadn’t just killed him first.

“Come on, Zuko, please. Please wake up. Please.”

And almost as though he’d heard him Zuko finally, _finally,_ gave the barest shudder but it felt like a tidal wave after the stillness.

Sokka held his breath.

Zuko twitched again.

“That’s it, you’ve got it,” Sokka coached as Zuko shuddered again.

Shivering was good.

It was the body trying to warm itself.

Zuko was going to…

He was going to be all right.

A soft moan sounded against Sokka’s chest.

It was the most beautiful sound he’d ever heard.

“You’re doing great,” Sokka rubbed one hand gently on Zuko’s back in time with the slow shivers starting to shake them both. “Keep it up, you, you stubborn jerk.”

Sokka felt the moment Zuko moved, actually moved over shivered, as a cold nose pressed itself almost painfully against this chest.

He hugged Zuko tighter.

“Waking,” Sokka swallowed, his voice thick, “waking up, sleeping beauty?”

There was a pause in the almost nuzzling Zuko was doing as he no doubt tried to get closer to whatever he thought the warmth was.

“S-Sokka?”

It was barely audible, more of a rasp than anything, but Sokka heard it loud and clear.

“That’s me,” he said. “Uh uh,” he scolded gently as he felt Zuko try to shift backwards, body rigid, “you’re not going anywhere. You need the heat.”

Zuko remained tense but he did stop pulling away.

Sokka counted it as a win.

Quiet ticked by.

“The cooler didn’t agree with you,” Sokka said when it was clear Zuko wasn’t going to start any conversation, trying to keep his voice light. 

Zuko somehow stiffened more.

A violent shiver broke it.

Although Sokka didn’t think it was entirely a shiver. He knew what those were now.

This…

This was a shudder.

And he could only wonder what Zuko had thought as the minutes dragged on. 

As the cold got worse.

As no help came.

As he wondered if…

If he might actually...

He hugged Zuko tighter. 

“You okay?” he asked softly as though that could encompass all that had happened. But it was all he could think of to say for the moment.

Zuko paused for a moment and then gave a nod against Sokka’s chest. “Yeah. I’m… I’m okay.”

“I’m sorry,” Sokka apologized just as softly. “I, I didn’t—”

“We… we had a plan. H-had,” Zuko’s teeth clacked, “to stick to it.”

“I know,” Sokka said quietly. “But the plan… it almost killed you, Zuko. It…” he trailed off.

Not now.

Telling Zuko right now about how… how _cold_ his people of fire were…

Not now. Later. When they weren’t here and they were safe and Zuko could see who his real friends, his _family,_ were so they could make sure he stayed safe and never, ever, felt that coldness ever again.

“I got them,” Zuko said into the quiet. Sokka felt his hands uncurl slightly. “The cooler… we can…”

“In a little bit,” Sokka said. “For now, let’s just… just rest, okay? Warm up?” 

It spoke to how Zuko was feeling that he didn’t argue further. Sokka instead felt him give a little sigh — exhaustion? relief? — but in that breath he felt the remaining tension drain away and Zuko leaned into the hug.

And although Zuko was still cold to the touch, still chilling their blanket cocoon and leeching Sokka’s own body heat...

Sokka had never felt so warm. 

**Author's Note:**

> A prompt request for Zuko + Hypothermia for my November of Thanks event. I immediately thought of the coolers at The Boiling Rock and those episodes had **so** much extra whump potential xD
> 
> If you enjoyed the fic **please leave a comment!** , not just a kudo or a page click! It's very disheartening from this side of the desk to see all these hits and kudos and no actual engagement from readers. So please, if you took the time to read the fic please take the time to leave a comment (the small details make my day ♥). Thank you very much.
> 
> 🌌 **(Like my works? Want to read even MORE? Visit my[Tumblr, icypantherwrites](https://icypantherwrites.tumblr.com) for details.)**🌌  
>   
> 


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